Seven sent to hospital after chemical spill

NEWINGTON — Seven Tradebe Treatment and Recycling Northeast workers were transported to the hospital after a chemical spill at the facility Monday morning.

One of the workers suffered burns, while six others had respiratory issues.

At 8:45 a.m. Monday, Newington Fire and Rescue was dispatched to Tradebe, located at 410 Shattuck Way, to respond to a report of an incident involving hazardous material.

Fire Chief Andrew Head said the spill occurred during a routine work task. “What happened was a worker was moving a container that had some chemicals left in it, and it spilt onto him,” Head said.

The male employee, who was unsure of what chemicals were left in the container, quickly started complaining of burns to his lap area.

Within three minutes, Newington Fire and Rescue was on the scene with a fire engine as well as an ambulance. The rescue team immediately focused on the employee suffering from the burns, putting the worker into a shower so the chemical could be decontaminated.

After the spill, six other employees suffered throat and breathing irritation and were transported to the Portsmouth Hospital. A seventh employee suffered from similar symptoms, but signed a refusal form stating that he did not want to be taken to the hospital.

The male worker who suffered from the burns remains unidentified due to HIPPA laws.

With help from ChemTrec, which specifically deals with rapid response to hazardous material spills, the chemical was identified as thionyl chloride. Due to the spill and the Fire Department’s presence at Tradebe, the facility was shut down but reopened later in the day after the Fire Department declared it safe.

According to Mike Ferraro, executive vice president at Tradebe, the spill was cleaned up and workers were back on site without issue.

In addition, the six workers who were taken to the hospital for breathing issues had been released and reported back to work on Tuesday morning.

While the worker who sustained burns was released from the hospital as well, he was not planning on returning to work until later in the week.